Forever and Always
by waterenchantress11
Summary: As a mermaid, Namine had never seen any humans before. When she starts to watch a group of humans on Destiny Islands, her whole life changes. Rated T for occasional swearing.
1. The First Time I Saw You

_Hmm hmm hm hmhmm. Hmm hmm hmmm…. _I hummed a lullaby to myself. The water made the lullaby sound soft, almost like it had an echo. It made me smile.

A brightly-colored fish passed in front of my face. That was one thing I loved about living near the reefs- the ocean life was the most colorful and varied there. The creatures were also pretty nice once you got to know them, too.

I heard familiar voices. Someone was talking, and then there was laughing. I picked out a higher-pitched, tinkling voice among the two lower ones. The sounds didn't have the same echo as underwater, though. I figured they must be coming from the surface. I decided to investigate.

Swimming behind a large chunk of coral attached to a partly submerged boulder, I silently surfaced. Slowly, I edged around the outside of the rock, peeking around until I could finally see them. I moved my tail in slow, delicate twirling motions to keep myself afloat.

I'd never seen them in such a close proximity. There were three, just as I'd observed previously. One girl and two boys, to be exact. The girl had mid-length reddish hair, and one boy had brown spikey hair. The other was blonde.

The girl laughed again, running from the brunette. He chased her into the water, a smile splitting his face from ear to ear. "I'm gonna get you, Kairi!" He called as they ran through the knee-deep ocean. He ended up tackling her, and they fake-wrestled. Within minutes she was standing on top of him, a foot on his chest.

"I win!" She called. "You have to buy us all ice cream today." Kairi smiled, helping him up. The boy grabbed her hand, but pulled her down into the water with him. They both laughed and clambered out, soaking wet.

"Hey, don't shake it on me!" the blonde laughed as the brunette took off his shirt and wrung it out.

"Jeez Roxas, chill! It's just water!" The darker-haired boy laughed. "It's not going to poison you or anything." He staged a fake epic death that sent Kairi into rounds of giggles. The blonde, whose name evidently was Roxas, rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, Sora," He said to the blonde. "I just didn't feel like getting wet today."

Sora shrugged. "You missed out," He said. "The water was extra-warm today." He threw his shirt over his shoulder. "You gonna come back home with us?"

"Nah," Roxas said. "I'm gonna stay for a bit. I'm just gonna watch the sunset. Tell Mom not to worry."

"'Kay," Sora called, grabbing Kairi's hand. "Let's go," he said. They disappeared into the foliage behind the dunes.

Roxas smiled faintly, then turned back toward the slowly-setting sun. I scooched around the boulder to try to get a good glimpse of him. He stood up and walked towards where the water sloshed quietly on the sand. Moving slowly, almost as in a trance and ever-staring at the sun, he walked in so his ankles were submerged. Standing there, his eyes turned towards the sky, he was beautiful. His ultrablue eyes, bluer than even the water of the islands, caught the light. It reminded me of a song my mother taught to me when I was little, one of my first lullabies. It was sung in Mer.

"_Rememore, lasatir, lunai._

_Makadorii mo lomei ast noroth logahn._

_Roth, forman lumë raeon…"_

I sang to myself from behind the rock, softly. Letting myself sink underwater, I thought to myself, _You can't meet him. Not yet. You've only been watching them on the beach for a week or so now. They're humans, anyway. Dangerous._

But he didn't _look _dangerous, standing there, watching the sunset. He looked calm, peaceful, beautiful.

A thought occurred to me. Maybe I could try talking to him through thoughts. I had discovered as a little girl that I could mold people's minds. I could put thoughts into them or alter memories, sometimes. I had had enough time to hone my skill into a fine art, as I liked to think of it. Of course , I almost never had to use it, so I hadn't really practiced on anyone before. Especially not a human. I doubted if it could work, because I usually had to be in physical contact with the person to do much of anything. I decided to give it a try anyway.

_Concentrate, _I thought. Focusing on my mental image of his face, I cleared my mind of all other thoughts. I closed my eyes.

_Roxas._ I summoned his consciousness. If I did it correctly, I would feel a surge of energy. I would be merged with his mind. I would be able to change memories, manipulate thoughts, or more.

_Roxas? Are you there? _I imagined my voice. I could feel a certain tingling in my fingers, which told me I was doing it correctly. Had I really done it? Without even physically seeing him? He must be special….

_Hey, Roxas! _I called.

"Wh-what?" I heard his voice say.

_I want to meet you. Meet me on this shore at the full moon of this month._

"Who's there?" His voice sounded panicky.

_It's alright. Don't panic, or you'll break the connection._

_ What?_

_ Good job. You're very special._

_ Who are you? Why are you in my head?_

_ Remember, full moon at this beach. After moonrise, come here. I'm counting on you._

_ Wait! But who—_

_ I'll answer all of your questions then. _

_ Are you an angel?_

I giggled. What a strange idea.

_You'll see then._

_ But I—_

_ I'll be waiting!_

I smiled as I withdrew from the connection. Humans could be so naïve sometimes. Silently, I flicked my tail as I sped off to the sea, towards my home. Weaving among the coral, I remembered his face.

I murmured the lullaby quietly, my voice distorted from the water.

"I'll be waiting…"


	2. The First Time We Met

Fourteen days after my mental conversation with Roxas, I was lying in bed.

"Namine? Are you alright?" My mother came into my room.

"I don't feel good," I moaned pathetically.

"Aww, sweetie," My mum said, swimming over to me and stroking my forehead. "Do you feel well enough to come to the full moon matsuri?"

"I don't think so," I said.

"Okay," My mom said. "Stay here, and get plenty of sleep. We'll try to be back earlier than normal."

_Likely chance. You and Dad are ever the party animals._

Luckily, she couldn't hear my thoughts.

"No, don't skip the fun because of me," I said.

My mother smiled. "We'll be back."

"Okay."

"Bye. Feel better."

"Bye. Have fun."

I waited a few minutes until I knew that they were long gone, headed off to the monthly matsuri for the moon. I swam out of bed and over to my bureau, where I got ready. I fastened my favorite shell top, made of silvery abalone. I placed a pearl comb over my ear, and wove a few loose pearls into my hair.

Swimming quietly, I made my way quickly out of my house, checking over my shoulder until I was far from the house. When I made it to the reef, I moved lazily. The sun was almost finished setting. The sky was a brilliant maroon. I stopped to stare at it for a minute, admiring the beauty of a world I couldn't live in.

I broke the surface, praying he would be there. I had been a few more times to watch them playing on the beach since our confrontation, but I wasn't able to get too close. He was always looking for something, eyes scouring the sea. I had had to be more careful than normal.

After a few seconds of my eyes adjusting to the new darkness after sunset, I saw a silhouette of someone standing on the shore. I wanted to rush over to hug him. I felt like we were already friends, but I had to remind myself that he still hadn't seen me face-to-face yet. The moon began her steady ascent, silently illuminating his features. I stared at his face from behind my usual rock. Slowly and carefully, I made my way up the rock and onto a favorite perch of mine, carefully positioning myself so that from the shore no one would see my tail. I began to sing quietly the lullaby from before. The Mer words rolled off my tongue like ocean waves.

"_Rememore, lasatir, lunai._

_Makadorii mo lomei ast noroth logahn._

_Roth, forman lumë raeon…"_

I looked at the shore; the figure had turned towards me. I dove off from the boulder without a noise, making my way slowly over to him. I stopped in chest-deep water, calling him mentally towards me through our pre-established connection. After a moment of concentration, I found the niche in his mind.

_Roxas! Aren't you going to come into the water and say hello?_

He didn't reply, but instead started walking my way, slowly, as if entranced. He walked, staring at my face, making me a bit self-conscious. I held his gaze. When he was within ten feet of me, I could see his face clearly.

He looked enchanted, but also confused. His ultramarine eyes caught the moonlight like a dream-catcher, making them sparkle. Staring into his eyes, I could see a whole other world. His world, inside.

Still saying nothing, I decided he must be waiting for me.

"Roxas."

He stopped. I smiled.

"I knew you were dependable. I'm sorry for the inconvenient time; you should be asleep now, shouldn't you?"

He opened his mouth, then said, "Who are you?"

"My name," I said, putting a hand over my heart, "is Naminé." His mouth was hanging open slightly. It made me want to giggle. Was I really that strange-looking?

"How…how do you know my name?"

"I…. well, I've observed you and your friends at the beach. You know, Sora and Kairi."

The mention of those names seemed to make him snap out of it a little.

"So…I'm not imagining things?"

I giggled. Why would he be imagining me? "No, silly," I said, smiling. "I'm really here."

"Oh. Thank God. I was beginning to feel a little crazy." He breathed a sigh of relief.

I twirled my tail once, stirring up sand. "So," I said. "I've wanted to meet you for a while. Tell me about yourself."

"Okay… well, you already know my name. I'm fifteen—"

"Really? Me too!" I exclaimed. I looked at him. "You look older than fifteen."

"Well, I'll be turning sixteen in July. So that might be it."

"No way! I'm turning sixteen in July too!"

"Wait…. What day?"

"The…. Twenty-fifth?" I searched the depths of my mind for the correct human number. I was used to speaking in Mer.

"That's seriously weird. We have the same birthday?" He cocked an eyebrow, making a face. "What are we, long-lost siblings or something?"

I laughed. "I don't think that's really possible."

He was easy to talk to. We chatted for so long I lost track of time. I only understood how many hours had passed when I noticed the sun had begun to rise.

"Oh no!" I exclaimed. I had forgotten how late it had become. "I have to leave," I said, cutting him off in the middle of a sentence. I turned away, ready to swim, but he grabbed my arm.

"Wait…" He said, looking at me wistfully. "I… will I see you again?"

"Yes," I said. "Next full moon. I promise." Despite my words, he looked unconfident.

"Here," I said, plucking one of the pearls from my hair. "I give you my word. I will return." I smiled with a hint of sadness, knowing it would be an entire moon cycle before I would see him again.

"Okay," He said, finally releasing my arm. Even now it was slow; he was reluctant to let me leave.

"I'll see you again. One month."

"Okay. See you in a month."

I submerged and pumped my tail, speeding off into the distance. Breaching the surface more than thirty feet away, I waved.

"Goodbye!" I called.

"Bye!" He said, waving. I dove underneath, and with a flick of my tail, sped towards home.


	3. The First Time I Realized I Loved You

Months flew by, quicker than I ever could have thought. My birthday neared, and I met Roxas at the beach several times. Every time, we talked from moonrise to moonset, laughing, joking, and generally becoming closer and closer friends. It was only on the sixth month after our first encounter I decided to tell him about my people.

Meeting in the chest-deep water, we hugged. I grinned as soon as I could make out his face. After talking for a little, he said,

"So, we always talk about me when you're here. I want to get to know you. Tell me something about yourself."

"I…. well, I…." I tried to figure out something that wouldn't reveal my secret. I couldn't think of much.

"Do you really want to know about me?" I asked. He nodded eagerly.

"Okay. Well, it'll require me coming onto the beach for that." He looked a little confused. We always talked in the water.

I swam slowly towards the shore. _No turning back now. _I felt a little panic as the water slowly fell away, more and more of me bare to the warm night air. It wasn't as dry as I thought.

"Close your eyes," I told him.

Roxas, who had been patiently swimming next to me, obeyed. He clambered up onto the beach, plopped down, and closed his eyes.

I pulled up onto the sand next to him, my tail making it an awkward affair. The large dorsal sail on my back made it even harder to sit comfortably. I realized how unwieldy my tail was on land. My people were designed for the sea. I managed to shift my weight to one hip and my hands, alleviating any pain. It wasn't that bad to sit in this fashion.

"Oh-okay," I said, taking a deep breath. "You can look now."

As he opened his eyes, I kept mine on his face. He first looked at my face, but quickly his gaze shifted down to my lower half.

"Oh…my…God…" He breathed, eyes soaking up my tail. His statement was followed by a minute of silence, and then he looked toward towards my face. His expression was a mix of awe and understanding.

"So…is this why we always talk in the water?"

I nodded silently, not knowing what to expect. The realization should kick in about…

"Wait…. So you're a….?" He couldn't even finish his own sentence as his eyes trailed back down to my fluke.

"Mermaid." I filled in. "Yes."

"That explains… a lot…" I looked at my tail. Silver and sparkling in the moonlight, the scales glinted off one another. The effect was hypnotizing. I flopped my fluke.

My eyes moved to him. Where his tail should have been had he been one of us, he had two legs. They looked soft, even a little hairy, tanned from the incessant sun. He wiggled his toes mindlessly, fascinating me.

"Could I…. touch it?" He asked, bringing me back to reality.

"My tail?" I said. "Yeah. Sure." He moved a little closer to me, and then held his hand out tentatively, slowly. He glanced up at me once, apprehensively. When his hand finally landed about where my human knees would be, he pulled back in alarm.

"What?" I asked. I hoped internally he wasn't afraid of me.

"It's kind of cold," He said.

"Yeah," I explained, "My body temperature is never really consistent. I'm warm-blooded, but it kinda varies."

"Oh," He said. His hand traveled back to my tail. His face was awe-stricken. Obviously he'd never seen a mermaid before. He rubbed his fingers up and down, trying to adjust to the texture. I started to laugh.

"What?" He looked perplexed.

"That tickles!" I giggled, nearly falling over. My tail wiggled back and forth, trying to keep my balance. He smiled.

"Can I…?" He saw me looking at his toes. "Yeah," he said, turning towards me and holding up a foot for me to examine.

I looked at him, then grabbed the foot. I felt his sole, making him laugh. Apparently humans were ticklish, too. I poked each one of his toes. What was the purpose for those? They didn't do anything, right? It's not like you can pick things up with them.

He was watching me in fascination.

"What? Am I doing something wrong?" I said, looking at him in worry. His foot was still in my hands.

"No, nothing's wrong. I just find it a little strange that you are so interested in my feet." I let it go, and it fell to the ground with a thud.

"Well, _I _find it strange that you are so interested in my tail. It's so plain, compared to everyone I know."

"Why?"

My eyes turned downward. "Well, the color is so…. dull. It's a boring color. I wish I could at least have blue, or purple. Or maybe orange. Something colorful. Something pretty."

"It's fine. Your tail sparkles . I've never seen anything that shines more. I think you're beautiful just the way you are." I looked up, my eyes following the curve of his jawbone, the blonde hair I wanted to run through my hands. The eyes like I'd never seen.

"Oh." I said, embarrassed that he was saying things like that. I looked back down, trying to hide the furious blush that blossomed over my cheeks. No one had ever said anything like that to me before. I bit my bottom lip. "You don't have to say that to make me feel better."

"I'm not." His voice came from next to me. He tucked my hair behind my ear. "I wouldn't do that. We can be honest around each other. Why do you think we're friends?" I looked up. He was smiling at me.

"Thanks." I said, accepting his previous compliments. "So, I guess you know my big secret now."

"So…what's it like?"

"What's what like?"

"You know…. Living out there." He gestured vaguely toward the sea. "I bet it's wonderful."

"Oh… yeah, it is. Most of the time. I wish I could live up here, though."

"Why? I live on a little tiny island in the middle of nowhere. You'd have to go to school! On the other hand, Naminé, you can swim around all day, explore the underwater coves and coral reefs, play with dolphins." He sighed. "That's how I want to live. Free."

"Yeah, but up here you can run, walk, lay out in the sun without worrying about your tail drying out…" I sighed, looking back out at the ocean. "And, I'd have friends."

"I'm your friend, aren't I?"

"Yeah, you are," I said smiling a little. "But I would have friends of my own species." A little bitterness came into my voice.

He looked at the moon. "We're not allowed to be friends, are we." It was more of a statement than a question.

"If my parents found out I came here, I would be grounded for life."

"Yeah. Me too."

There was a pause. We both looked at the moon.

"Do you want to see my house?" He said, trying to lighten the mood a little.

"Sure! I'd love to. But… how?"

"There's a stream we can follow. It can get a little shallow, though. You have to be careful."

I nodded, pushing myself back into the water so I could swim easily. I came up often so I could see him walking on the sand. After a while, we started up a conversation. The wait wasn't long. He quickly found the mouth of the stream, which was just deep enough for me to swim in. He walked along its banks.

After a few minutes of swimming, I stopped.

"What's wrong?" He said, turning back to me.

"I can't go any farther," I said. "It's too shallow."

"Crap," He muttered. He looked from me to the stream and back. He walked down the gently-sloping riverbed and over to me.

"Looks like I'll have to carry you."

"No, it's fine. You don't have to. We can just go back to the beach."

"No, it's okay. I'm not as weak as I look. Plus, it's only a few minutes' walk from here."

"Are you sure? I don't want you doing anything that'll hurt you."

"Yup. I'll be fine." He got down on one knee next to me and placed a hand on my back and an arm underneath my knees. I hooked my arms around his neck, blushing. He swept me up and started walking. He didn't seem to think it was awkward in the slightest. It was embarrassing to me because in the mermaid world, no one really made physical contact much. It was viewed as intimate and inappropriate.

_Do humans carry each other around like this often? _I wondered. The thought brought more blood to my cheeks. He struck up a casual conversation. We talked until I could see a clearing in the tropical forest.

"Here we are," he said quietly. "Home."

I looked in the same direction as him. The house was painted a baby-blue that matched the sky on most days. The roof and shutters were white, as was the door. It was a very peaceful place.

"It's beautiful," I said quietly. I imagined what it would be like to live in a great house like this, running on the wooden floors, cooking in the kitchen and eating with a loving family. I sighed. That was the way to live.

"It's nice, isn't it?" He said. "The window up on the third floor—the second-to-last on the right—that's my room. And then Sora's is to the left of mine, and then my mom and dad's, and then the spare." He looked up at the windows, smiling.

"You ready to go back?" He said.

"Yeah." I felt bad for making him carry me. We talked again on the way back to the stream. I laughed as he told me stories about his brother and all the mischief they got into. Looking down at the creek during the middle of one of his stories, I noticed we were nearly at the mouth.

"Um, Roxas," I said, waiting for him to finish his sentence. "I can swim from here."

"Oh. Right," He replied, walking me over to the water and setting me down. I uncoiled my arms from around him and began to swim. He looked towards the now-present sea. We traveled in silence until we got back to the ocean.

Once we made it back to our usual spot, I looked at the slowly-setting moon. "Maybe next time, I can show you the reef. It really is beautiful. It looks so much more pretty from underwater." He nodded.

"Well, it looks like sunrise," I said. "See you soon." He came into the water and hugged me. There was something different about this hug, though. It was longer than normal. I could feel his heart beating in his chest. His arms were wrapped tighter around my back than usual. My heart skipped a beat when I realized I was hugging him back tight, too. I rested my head on his shoulder for a minute until we broke apart.

We exchanged goodbyes, and I started swimming out to sea. I took a look back at him. As he walked back to shore, his eyes followed me. I turned forward again, biting my lower lip. I thought about how differently he had been acting tonight. Hugging me tighter, closer, longer. Carrying me when he didn't have to, without complaints. He seemed to enjoy holding me. Not that I didn't enjoy it either- sure, I had to get used to it, but I liked it. I liked….him.

_Could I be…. No. Not possible._

The thought went through my mind anyway.

_Could I be falling in love?_

I thought about it. The signs were there. I had butterflies in my stomach when I saw him. He was the most beautiful, amazing person I had ever met. I could talk to him for hours, tell him anything. I even dreamed about him sometimes, and thought about him every day we were apart.

_Yes. It could be very, extremely possible._

I took a deep breath. I came to the realization: I was in love. I was in love with someone from another world. I took another breath, trying to clear my head of the giddy excitement of a love high. This could not turn out good. I was in a very delicate, dangerous situation. I pushed the onset of worry to the back of my head. _Everything is fine. For now._


	4. The First Time I Gave You A Gift

When I was leaving a month later at sunrise from a visit with Roxas, I came to a realization.

"Hey… next we see each other will be the last time before your birthday."

"Yeah. It's yours too! Jeez. Sixteen…." He trailed off, looking at the last remnants of the moon hanging in the sky.

After we said goodbye and started to return to our separate houses, I began to wonder what I would bring him for his birthday gift. When I returned home, I had the perfect plan. I wrapped his gift in pretty purple sea-paper (or seaweed).

A month later, we met on the familiar beach again. As I pulled up on the sand, I saw him carrying a brightly-wrapped box.

"You didn't have to get me anything," I said, blushing at the thought that he'd want to give me a present.

"Neither did you," He said, sitting down next to me. "But I knew you would. So I did too. Plus, that's what friends are for."

"You first," I said as we exchanged gifts. He opened the sea-paper very carefully, so as not to break it.

In his hands he held a shell that fit into his palm. It was mounted on a silver chain.

"It's not just a conch," I explained. "That shell is the mother to this shell." I said, pointing to an identical necklace hanging over my heart. "If you talk into that shell, I will hear you. Wherever you are."

He looked at me, enchanted. "Can we test it out?" I nodded. He ran off into the trees behind the sand dunes. Within a minute, I heard a voice coming from my shell.

"Can you hear me?" His voice was a hushed --but otherwise perfect --replica.

I giggled. "Yeah," I said, talking back to him. He emerged from the forest, grinning.

"Your turn." He said, pointing to the bright gift next to me.

I flipped open the box and opened it gently, trying not to rip the wrapping paper. Inside was a small box made of mother-of-pearl. I glanced at him once, and then opened it to reveal what was inside.

"Oh my god," I said in a whisper. I picked up the locket in between my forefinger and thumb. It was a golden heart with an illuminated letter R on the front of it.

"Open it," he said. I pried the necklace apart. It clicked and the two halves separated. I covered my mouth at what was inside. A picture of the two of us smiling, covered in a clear, shiny paper.

"I had it laminated," He said. "So you can look at it underwater." He smiled at me. I wanted to cry.

"My mom gave me that locket for my third birthday," He said. "For some reason… I'm not quite sure why, but it reminded me of you." I could barely stop the tears from running down my face.

"R-Roxas…" I said, biting my bottom lip. He walked behind me and fastened the clasp around my neck. "It's beautiful," I murmured. When he came back to the front, I tackle-hugged him.

"Thank you." I spoke the words into his chest.

"You're welcome. And thank you." He smiled, returning the embrace. When we broke away, I sniffed and wiped my eyes.

"Time for the rest of your gift." I said to him with a smile.

"I'm not done yet?" He said, looking a little confused.

"No." I said, my grin growing. "We're going swimming."


	5. The First Time I Showed You My World

I moved back into the water, waiting for him. He ran back to his house to drop off his present and came back, changed into his boardshorts. His lack of a shirt made me blush and look away.

"Ready?" I said as he joined me in the water. He nodded.

"Okay," I said. "Where we're going is a surprise, but I need to warn you: where we're going, no human has ever gone before. You _need _to hold onto my hand—as long as you do, you won't need to breathe air. You need to release the human side of you when you're underwater. I'll be breathing for the both of us." He nodded slowly. I hoped this didn't scare him.

We linked hands. I breathed deeply to try and rid myself of the butterflies. _Ok. Concentrate._

"Okay. Breathe in a few times. I'm not going to tell you when we're underwater. I'm just going to go." I had already started swimming while I was talking him through the tutorial.

_See? You're doing great. Now, just breathe in. You won't drown. I promise._

He nodded, trusting me. He inhaled, a little wince on his face like he was expecting something to happen. Nothing did. He opened his eyes.

_Good job. Now just keep on breathing like you normally would on land._

After a few minutes of swimming, I thought to him, _Okay. I'm going to swim a little faster now…_

I pumped my tail harder. Up and down, I started building speed. My heart fluttered as I could feel his fingers intertwining with mine.

_Chill, _I told myself. _He's just trying to hold onto you._

_Okay, Roxas. Close your eyes._

He obeyed. I saw the entrance to our destination. Once we were inside, I thought to him again.

_Open up._

We were inside a cave. More precisely, a crystal cave. The cave was an air bubble underwater. Crystals climbed up the steep walls, and they glowed underneath us. The moonlight filtering in through the entrance danced and bounced off the hundreds of crystals, creating a hypnotizing, almost blue light that gave this place a certain ambience.

"Thousands of years ago, my ancestors discovered this place. They thought it was sacred. The enclosed environment made a nearly undisturbed place to grow crystals."

"It's beautiful," He whispered, staring at the flickering light. His eyes passed from one gem to another. His blue eyes were lit up from the inside as well as out.

"It's one of my favorite places to just sit and think. No one, not even mermaids, has come here for years." I smiled, knowing that whenever I came back I would be reminded of him.

I felt his eyes on me. I watched the sparkling light of the crystals.

"Thank you." He said. I could tell he truly meant it. He squeezed my hand, making my heart skip a beat.

I nodded, not trusting my voice. Instead, I thought to him:

_You're welcome._


	6. The First Time We Shared A Birthday

Roxas' POV

"WAKE UP!!" Sora bashed my head with a pillow.

"Go awaaay," I moaned, swiping at his face. He kept on smacking me until I sat up.

"Jeez, Sora," I moaned sleepily. "Couldn't you have waited till at least noon?"

"Today's the day, bro!" Sora laughed. "You're turning sixteen!"

"Don't people normally sleep in on their birthdays? I never do this to you."

"You're sleeping your day away!" Sora smiled. "C'mon, you're going to need to wake up before your party starts!"

"Not till eight," I mumbled. I wished he would leave me alone, but I was already awake at this point. "Whatever. I'm up, I'm up."

When I dressed and went downstairs, I smelled my mom cooking. She came over to kiss my forehead.

"Morning, sleepyhead! Happy Birthday! I made your favorite grand-slam breakfast!"

"Mornin'," I said, smiling a little. An array of food was laid out in front of me.

"We have chocolate chunk pancakes, homefries, sausage. All your favorites."

My stomach growled. "Thanks," I said. "I'm starving."

After wolfing down immeasurable amounts of the best breakfast I'd tasted in a very long time, I told my mom I needed to get some air.

"Birthday boy's going down to the beach," I called to the house. I walked along the stream we had followed several months ago. It seemed like forever since I'd seen her, but it was really less than a week. Sucks we couldn't even see each other on our own birthdays.

I fingered the necklace she had given me. I wore it every day. I smiled, thinking I was going to say something, but the words didn't come to my mouth.

I arrived at the beach. The water was a crystal-clear blue, as always. I mindlessly stroked the shell as I looked out at the sea, wondering where she was right now.

"Roxas?"

Great, now I'm even hearing her voice? It sounded like she was actually here, though. That perfect, sing-song….

"Roxas? Is that you?"

I looked to where the voice was coming from. I definitely hadn't imagined it. I scoured the water, thinking she must have been watching me or something.

"Namine?"

"Over here." I turned my head towards the trees where her voice was coming from.

"Yes, it's me." She called. "I'm this way, in the forest."

"But you…"

A foot appeared from behind some tallgrass. "I have these."

"Wh-whaaaat?? You're _human?"_

"I don't know how! I was just sitting on the sand… I wanted to wish you a happy birthday. You know, in person."

"Why are you hiding from me…?"

There was a short pause.

"When I became human, I…uh…." I could practically hear her blushing. "Clothes weren't included in the package. If you know what I mean."

It took me a second to figure it out.

"Oh. _Oh._" I quickly pulled my shirt over my head and threw it into the foliage. A graceful hand caught it in mid-flight.

"Thanks," She mumbled gratefully. I turned away awkwardly.

"Um, hey," She said minutes later, her hand on my shoulder. She was wearing my tee shirt. I turned around and hugged her.

"What the hell were you thinking? You could have gotten yourself killed!"

"I…. I just wanted to say happy birthday to you." Her tone fell a little. "I'm…sorry. If you didn't want to see me." She tried to pull away.

"It's not like that," I said. "Of course I wanted to see you! It's just, you could have gotten into a bad situation…. I don't want to see you hurt."

"Oh. Okay," She said, her voice picking up a bit. "If you really feel like that."

I let her go. "I want you to stay here," I explained. "Don't go anywhere. I'm going to go get you some clothes. I'll only be a few minutes."

"Okay. I won't go anywhere."

"See you in five." I jogged away, looking over my shoulder once to see if she was fine.

_What a weird situation to be in. Whatever is going on, it confuses me,_ I thought to myself.

When I made it to the house, I grabbed some spare clothes from our guest bedroom. I hoped they would fit her.

When I returned, I was so relieved to see her in one piece. I handed her the bundle of clothing and she got changed. We started walking along the beach.

"So, uhm… happy birthday."

"Yeah. You too."

We walked in silence for a bit.

"BRO!" I heard a familiar voice call me from the general direction of my house. Sora came running onto the shoreline, waving.

"Hey," He said when he got to us, grinning and out of breath. "You need to come back. For the party. It's in six hours, you know. We've barely started getting the decorations up. Oh, and by the way, Mom picked up your tux from the cleaners. She wants you to try it on." Only then did he notice Namine. "Oh, _hello _there," He said, eyeing her up and down. I elbowed him in the stomach.

"Hello," She said politely, smiling.

"So, who's this?" Sora asked me, winking. I resisted the urge to punch him.

"This is my penpal, Namine," I said, scrambling for a story in my head. "She lives far away, and she wanted to surprise me by coming to Destiny Islands for my birthday."

"Oh," He said, completely believing it. She just nodded and played along. "Well, dude, we have to go."

"Sora," I explained to him. "She didn't know I had a party tonight, so she didn't pack a dress… Do you think--?"

"Kairi could dress her? Yeah, I'm sure she'd love to have a Barbie doll for the day. Believe me, she has too many prom dresses in that closet for her own good."

"Great, thanks. I'll just take her to Kairi's and then I'll be back home."

"Okay, I'll tell Mom."

"See ya."

I held Namine's hand. She was a little unsteady walking.

No. _Seriously_, she was.

Okay. Maybe it's like that a _little_….

I took her hand and started walking her to Kairi's house. When we reached the door, I explained to her what was going on.

"I have a party tonight," I said. "It's my Sweet Sixteen—humans have a big party when they turn sixteen. So I'm handing you over to Kairi—she's Sora's girlfriend. She'll get you dressed, get your makeup done, everything. She's really cool. You guys will be like sisters in no time. Okay?"

She nodded. Probably feeling a little bit overwhelmed.

I hugged her. "See you tonight," I smiled, running off to my house to get ready.


	7. The First Time We Kissed

Namine's POV

And so I stood, at the door of Kairi's, watching Roxas run off into the distance. Once I peeled my eyes away from him, I went to knock on the door. It opened before I could do anything.

"Hi! I'm Kairi! Sora just texted me, I know the whole situation. Come in, come in!" She welcomed me inside, springing up the stairs and showing me to a room.

"So." She clapped her hands together. "We'd better get started." She gave me a tour of her expansive closet, filled with dresses of every color. We each pulled a few.

"I don't know what looks good on me. You're the expert here," I explained to her. I looked at our picks: drastically different. Mine were very simple. Hers were…. extravagant. To say the least.

"Hmmm…" she said, examining my choice outfits. She eliminated two of my picks on first sight. The other three she held up to my body, muttered things to herself, explained how different cuts flatter different people. I wasn't really listening.

"Here," She said, handing me two of her choosing and three of mine. "Go try those on in the bathroom."

After an hour and a half, we narrowed it down to two: one of mine and one of hers.

"Hmm," she said, scrutinizing them. "You have a good eye." She shrugged. "I don't know. They both look adorable on you. Whichever you like." I looked down at the two dresses in front of me. Hers was a poofy, whitish-pink dress with a tulle skirt and satin top.

"I think with this one, I'll look too much like a bride," I said. She nodded. "I agree. Well, the blue one it is then." She took the pink dress from me and stashed it in her closet. "Go get dressed so we can do your hair and makeup. It's only two hours to the party, you know!" I obediently started getting changed in her attached bathroom.

"So, how do you know Roxas?" Kairi said through the door. "I want to know all the juicy details!"

I blushed. "There are none. I'm his penpal, that's all. We're best friends."

"Mmmhmm…. Isn't he cute though? Everyone at school crushes on him. He doesn't have a girlfriend though… yet."

"I don't think of him like that. We're friends. That's all."

_Liar._

_ SHUT UP, MIND!_

"Oh. Okay." She sounded a little disappointed. "But, you know, if you want that to change, I can help. Parties are the best time for hooking up."

"Oh. Thanks, but I don't think so." I zipped up the dress and walked out. She immediately sat me down in a chair and started on my hair and makeup.

"Ready?" She said, two hours later. She spun me around so I could see myself.

"Wow," I said, pretty much wordless. I looked the prettiest I had ever seen. And I don't really consider myself pretty. At all.

"I look… older!" I said, staring at my reflection. "Is that even me?"

Kairi nodded, looking like she was going to cry. "I'm a miracle worker."

"Hey!" I said.

"Kidding!" She retorted, laughing. She glanced at the clock.

"Crap! I still have to get you shoes!" She wailed like it was the end of the world. She dashed to her closet and started rummaging through wildly.

"Catch!" She called from inside. A pair of silver strappy sandals flew at me. I caught them and put them on in a rush.

"Wait… aren't we already late?" I said, looking at the clock. It read eight fifteen.

"It's called fashionably late, dahling," She said, laughing. "If you get there too early, you look strange." She paused. "Have you ever been to a party?"

I shook my head. "Not really."

She wrestled on a pair of shoes. "C'mon, let's go!" She flitted downstairs and I followed. We began the short walk to Roxas'.

When we reached his house, I looked at the decorations. The house had been covered in streamers, and there was a blue and white balloon arch in front of the door. A sign said, "Happy Sweet Sixteen Roxas." There must have been over a hundred people by the door alone.

As soon as we arrived, Kairi was saying hello to everyone.

"Hey, Kaylie! Oh, you brought Andrew too! How sweet!" She was hugging people. I just stood there, awkwardly. She started talking to them and greeting more people. I stood on my tiptoes in order to see over the crowd. I was looking for Roxas.

"Hey, Kairi, do you know where Roxas—" I turned. She wasn't standing there anymore. I searched the sea of faces for her to no avail.

_Figures._ I thought about talking into the shell, but I didn't want to bother him. Don't interrupt his fun. I pushed through the crowd of people inside his house until I reached the back porch. I walked, not really knowing where I was headed. My feet took me to the beach. The moon had risen. It was only half-full.

It was only then I noticed someone else on the beach. I strained my eyes to get a closer look. My eyes widened in surprise as I walked over to him.

"Roxas? Why are you here?"

"Hey Nam. Parties just aren't really my thing. My family organized this." I realized he was wearing a tuxedo. Tie and all.

"Oh." We both looked at the moon for a minute.

"It's funny seeing you in a tuxedo," I said. "You look quite snazzy." I giggled. He chuckled.

"Well, it's strange seeing you in a dress. With legs." He half-smiled.

"Yeah. It's really weird."

"So…what brings you out here?" He asked.

"Well, Kairi ditched me in the first five minutes." I shrugged. "Whatever."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, she does that sometimes. I'm gonna have to tell her off. She did a good job on your wardrobe though."

"Thanks." He murmured something to himself. I couldn't make it out. My heart caught in my throat. I sat down.

After a minute of silence, he said something that surprised me. "You look really beautiful tonight, you know. More than normal, I mean."

"Um, thanks." I blushed bright red. _Breathe. Breathe. Seriously. OH MY GOD FREAKING BREATHE ALREADY._

I took in a breath and bit my lip. I looked away.

"Do you think you're pretty?" His question startled me.

"What?" I asked. I hadn't been expecting that.

"I said, do you think you're pretty?"

"I, uh…. No, I guess. Not really."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. I guess I just don't have high self-confidence?"

"You should think you're pretty. Because you are." He looked at me. I couldn't bear to return the gaze. "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. And that is saying something."

I just wanted to change the subject. It was making me uncomfortable.

"Do we have to talk about this? It's kinda….weird."

"Oh. Yeah. Sure." We shared an awkward silence.

It was time for me to leave. I got up. "I think I should go," I said. I already started walking away. He jumped up after me. I walked a little quicker, but he grabbed my hand before I got far.

"Namine. Stay. Please?" He looked at me pleadingly. His eyes melted my heart. "You're my only real friend here."

"Don't you have Kairi?"

"Okay, you do have a point there, but let me rephrase: You are the only person right now in the entire world that I feel comfortable telling everything to."

"I…guess…." He sat and pulled me down too, never letting go of my hand.

After a little bit, I tried to pull away from his hand. I didn't want to, but a voice inside told me I should.

He looked at me a little sadly. "Are you mad at me?"

"What? Of course not."

"Well, you're acting different."

"What? I'm fine."

"Seriously. What did I do?"

"You didn't do anything! If anything happened, it was probably my fault anyway!" I said in self-frustration.

_Why can't you just tell him you like him? It's so obvious._

His gaze bored into my head.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." I calmed down a little.

"Can I tell you something?" He asked after a minute.

"Anything."

"I…well, it's really weird to be saying this, but….I…" He took a deep breath. Roxas took both of my hands and turned me to face towards him. My heartbeat doubled in pace.

"I am in love with you, Namine."

I was speechless. "You….what?"

"I love you." He paused. " I'm sorry. Am I going too fast?" He looked straight into my eyes. "I don't want to make you scared."

I very nearly laughed. "Me. Scared of you?" I shook my head. "You're the sweetest person I have ever met."

"So… you're okay with it?"

"The truth is, Roxas….I have been feeling the same way about you for a very long time." I couldn't believe I was saying this. Could any of it really be happening?

"Thank god. I have been freaking out about this for so long…." He confessed. "I was afraid it might destroy our friendship." He intertwined his fingers in my hands.

"No," I said. Why could he even _think _something like that? "No matter what happens, we'll always be friends."

"Nam…" He called me by my nickname. "You know, I've been wanting to try something."

"Roxas," I said softly. "Do you mean…"

"I've never kissed anyone before," He said quietly.

"Neither have I."

"Well, I guess we can call this the first time." He started to lean in slowly. I nodded. I thought my heart was going to burst any second. A tempo this fast couldn't be good for my health.

Our foreheads touched, our noses brushed.

_Hey, I'm not letting you do everything._ I leaned forward and closed the gap between our faces.

The kiss was sweet and gentle. It came naturally, just like breathing. You didn't really have to know how to, you just kind of…did.

When it was over, I rested my head on his shoulder.

"This is the happiest moment of my life," I said, looking at his face. "I love you."

"I love you too."

We walked back to the party hand in hand. I spotted Kairi from across the room. She winked and gave me a thumbs-up sign. "GOOD JOB!" She mouthed. I blushed and laughed all at once.

After everyone had left, Roxas and I headed to the beach.

"I have to go," I said.

"Will you turn back into a mermaid?" He asked me.

"I think so," I nodded. "Something in my heart tells me I will."

He let go of my hand and kissed my cheek.

"See you next time." He was reluctant to let me leave.

"It's only a week, you know."

"I know… it just seems so long. Every day I'm without you feels like a year."

"You too. But know you're in my heart. Forever and always." I said.

"Forever and always." I swam away under the moon.

And so ended the best night of my life.


	8. The First Time I Ran Away

I sighed in my bed. _What is taking them so long to go to sleep? I'm late for meeting Roxas…_

My mom came into my room.

"Namine. We need to talk." She sounded angry.

"What? I'm sleeping. Can't it wait till morning?" _I'm late._  
"No, it can't. Get out here right now." She sounded impatient. When I swam into the main room of my house, both her and my father were at the table.

"What's wrong?"

"Sit down," My father said. I did so.

"Namine," My mother said, "You have been going to the surface against our will."

"What? How did you…?" I was horrified. "Have you been _following me?"_

_How much have they seen?_

"It doesn't matter," My mother said. "You are never allowed to go up to the surface. Ever."

"But—"

"It's dangerous up there!"

"NO! No, it isn't! It's fine!"

"You are not allowed to go to the surface. Ever again."

"Sweetie," My dad cut in, trying to break the tension. "We love you, and we're just trying to protect you from danger."

"BUT IT'S NOT DANGEROUS!"

"HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR SISTER DIED? Do you think she just disappeared? NO! She was killed by HUMANS! Those bloody animals!" My mother screamed. I hated that she was trying to guilt-trip me.

"HE IS NOT DANGEROUS!"

"I swear by the sea, if you ever go up there again, I will…"

"YEAH? Well, what WILL you do, MOM?!" I screamed. "YOU DON'T OWN ME! I have a life, and I want to live it! You can't claim me forever!!" I was really on a roll now. "I love someone, and I am not going to always live by your strict rule of life! I WANT TO LIVE!"

"Namine…"

"NO, Mom! Just because she died doesn't mean I have to, too! YOU CAN'T HOLD ONTO ME FOREVER!" With that, I stormed out. I heard my name faintly, but it held no meaning. I couldn't go back. It was just impossible at this point. I headed for the surface at top speed.

At about twenty feet deep, I noticed a change in the water. It churned, was a navy-black. Island water never did that. Unless…..

My voice came out in a whisper.

"A storm."


	9. The First Time We Didn't Make It

Roxas' POV

As soon as I knew everyone in my house was asleep, I went out to meet Namine. When I walked outside, I was hit by driving rain. I looked up, bewildered. Destiny Islands nearly never got rain, much less severe storms. For a second I thought about going back inside, but then I thought of her. I needed to see her. She was waiting for me, out there in the ocean. Maybe she was already sitting on the sand, wondering where I was. The thought made me jog, and then I broke into a run. Overcome with eagerness, I arrived on the beach thinking she would already be there. I could almost hear her calling my name.

"Hey, Namine!" I called, smiling. Only then I realized she wasn't there. That was weird. The moon had already risen. I searched the churning waters with my eyes. No, not there. Not on the beach either. I huddled in a clump of trees where I had some sort of cover. I hunkered down to wait.

My eagerness turned to anxiety as the minutes ticked by. _What is going on? _I thought. _She's never late. It's been nearly half an hour._

A crazy thought entered my mind. _Maybe she's waiting in the water. Maybe she doesn't know I'm here._

I didn't even bother taking my shirt off. I walked in until the water reached my knees. I dove headfirst into the churning waves.

I stuck my face underwater. Opening my eyes, I searched for her. Upon coming to the surface, I gasped for breath. Instead, I ended up swallowing water as a wave pushed me under. A vicious rip current had already pulled me far to the right of my point of entry. I wasn't going to give up. The wind picked up.

I remembered the necklace hanging above my chest. "NAMINE!" I had to scream into it to have any hope of my voice being heard on the other end.

I listened to the shell I held up to my ear. I didn't hear an answer. The sea was getting too rough. I decided it was time to go back to shore.

I started to paddle against the current which was pulling me to the right. I fought the ocean. I noticed the direction had changed; it was pulling me out to sea. Not good.

_Why had I been so stupid? What the heck was I thinking, swimming out here in the middle of a freaking hurricane?_

I paddled, swam, fought, to no avail. I was at the mercy of the waves now. I hoped it would calm in a little…

_Namine, where are you?_ I pleaded mentally for her to come. Then, I recounted my wish. _Don't come…. You'll be hurt._

"ROXAS? ROXAS! ROXAS!!" A shrill voice cut through the storm. I looked quickly, struggling to tread water.

"NAMINE! NAMINE!" At first I felt relief. Then, an impending sense of horror came over me. Her blonde hair bobbed through the waves. I saw her arms flailing to get my attention. I kicked the water to try to meet her. She appeared a few feet in front of me, bouncing up and down, carried by the relentless water.

"ROXAS! What the hell were _you _thinking!" She shrieked over the screaming winds.

"I wanted to see you! I didn't think! I'm sorry!"

"This is what you get for not thinking!"

She reached out and grabbed my hand. I held on tight to her, coughing when a wave came over us. Only then did I notice the water around me was bright red.

"Namine! What happened to you?" My eyes widened in revulsion as I looked at her skin. She was covered in cuts and scrapes.

"Rocks! You idiot, I was trying to get to you!"

"Oh my god! No, this is all my fault!"

"No it isn't! We were just both being idiots!" She screamed to me.

"We have to get back to shore!"

Her eyes were full of sadness. "Roxas… I don't think we're going to make it."

"WHAT? Don't talk like that!"

"ROXAS! Face the facts! You're human. I could barely swim through this at full strength! And I am slowly bleeding to death!" She looked straight into my eyes. "I don't think we're getting out of this one!"

I slowly considered logic. She was right.

"I…don't have enough strength for the both of us." She called to me. Even in a life-or-death situation, her voice was clear as a bell, sing-song.

"You're right." I yelled. "So….this is the end, huh? This is goodbye?"

"Yeah. But it's not really goodbye. For long." She started to tear up. "I love you! I always will!"

"You know I love you, too!" I screamed. "You'll be in my heart forever! Forever and always!"

She smiled through the tears. "Forever and always!" She agreed. The water was worse than before. The maelstrom thickened.

I squeezed her hand and kissed her on the lips. Even though I was kind of scared, I was ready. I knew it was coming. Death was an inevitable part of life anyway.

"I'll see you in the next life!" She cried to me. "Even though I might not know it's you, and you might not know it's me, we'll meet again! I promise!"

"You ready?" She whispered into my ear. Everything else had already faded into the background.

"I'm ready." I whispered back to her. We embraced in one final hug.

As I went down, my life flashed before my eyes. My family, Kairi, good times on the beach, my birthday party…. Namine….

I still looked at her as we were dragged underwater. Drowning was oddly more peaceful than I had imagined.

I closed my eyes and let go. As if a great weight was being lifted from my shoulders, I could feel my life slipping away from my hands.

_I love you, Namine._

_I love you too, Roxas._

I sighed and smiled. At least, even though I had to die, I got to die with someone I loved.

_So, I'll see you in the next life, right?_

_Of course. I'll be waiting!_


End file.
